CINDY SHERMAN

Early Years

Cindy Sherman grew up in suburban New Jersey before studying art at the State University of New York at Buffalo, graduating in 1976. It was during her time at university that she began experimenting with photography, initially exploring painting before turning to the camera as her primary medium. Sherman has lived and worked in New York for most of her career, where she continues to produce new bodies of work.

Cindy Sherman Artworks

Sherman’s practice is defined by her use of photography to explore the performance of identity. She acts as her own model, stylist, and photographer, transforming herself into a range of characters and archetypes that reflect and critique societal expectations and media representations.

Untitled Film Stills (1977–1980)

Sherman gained international acclaim with her Untitled Film Stills, a series of 69 black-and-white photographs in which she adopts the guise of various female characters inspired by 1950s and 1960s cinema. These images, which mimic the aesthetics of Hollywood and European arthouse films, raise questions about the roles women are assigned both on and off screen.

Centerfolds and Pink Robes (1981)

In the Centerfolds series, commissioned by Artforum, Sherman photographed herself in vulnerable, passive poses reminiscent of magazine centrefolds, subverting the conventions of the male gaze. The subsequent Pink Robes photographs see Sherman confronting the camera directly, challenging objectification.

Pictures Generation and Later Series

Sherman’s work is closely associated with the Pictures Generation, a group of artists who interrogated the influence of mass media and questioned ideas of authorship and originality. In the mid-1980s, her art took a darker turn with series such as Fairy Tales and Disasters, featuring grotesque prosthetics and unsettling scenarios. In the Sex Pictures series, Sherman removed herself entirely, using mannequins to explore themes of sexuality and abjection.

History Portraits and Recent Work

With History Portraits (1988–1990), Sherman referenced European portraiture, using costumes and props to highlight the artificiality of identity. More recently, her Society Portraits and Flappers series critique the obsession with youth and beauty in contemporary culture. Since 2017, Sherman has used Instagram as a platform for digitally manipulated self-portraits, continuing her exploration of identity in the age of social media.

Select Awards and Accolades

• Hasselblad Award (1999)
• Praemium Imperiale (2016)
• Wolf Prize in Arts (2020)

Exhibitions

Cindy Sherman has been the subject of both solo exhibitions and group exhibitions at important institutions. Below is a selection of important exhibitions.

Solo Exhibitions

• National Portrait Gallery, London, 2020
• The Broad, Los Angeles, 2016
• Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, 2015
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 2015
• National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, 2013
• Tate Modern, London, 2012
• Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 2012
• Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2012 (major retrospective)

Group Exhibitions

• Whitney Biennial, New York, 1995, 1993, 1991, 1985, 1983
• Biennale of Sydney, 1990, 1984
• documenta 7, Kassel, 1982
• Co-curator, 55th Venice Biennale, 2013

Cindy Sherman FAQs

Ocula | 2025